The Maritime & Port Security ISAO Convenes Inaugural Cybersecurity Summit at NASA/Kennedy Space Center February 22-24, 2017
Kennedy Space Center, FL (PRWEB) January 31, 2017 -- The Maritime & Port Security Information Sharing & Analysis Organization (MPS-ISAO) convenes its inaugural conference “Maritime & Port Cyber Resilience - Adding a New Layer of Cybersecurity” February 22-24, 2017 at the Global Situational Awareness Center at NASA/Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The conference is bringing together Maritime, Port,
Government and Industry “Thought Leaders” and “Change Agents” to operationalize cyber resilience by advancing cybersecurity at a more rapid pace through information sharing, coordinated response, adoption and adaptation of best practices (operational guidance) supported by role-based cyber resilience workforce education.
The MPS-ISAO, a non-profit organization, officially launched in May 2016, is dedicated to a mission to enable and sustain Maritime and Port cyber resilience, working in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, sector and cross-sector industry and government stakeholders, and security, technology and academic strategic partners.
The nation’s security depends upon a safe, secure and resilient Maritime and Port critical infrastructure for defense. Moving people, manufactured and agricultural goods, healthcare products, bulk energy and retail products throughout the ecosystem that handles $1.3 trillion in annual cargo…are all dependent upon cyber resilience. Moving from a reactive to a proactive security stance requires addressing cybersecurity from a risk-based approach, assessing Maritime- and Port-specific cyber risks and interdependencies, expanding beyond the physical aspects of security and safety – advancing greater information exchange and sharing solutions to enable and ensure systems protection, accessibility, reliability and resiliency.
Cyber attacks and vulnerability exploits can potentially have catastrophic cascading impacts to: GPSbased and e-navigation systems, monitoring control of safety/emergency/environmental systems, operation of security cameras and gates, tracking and controlling container terminal operations and cargo movements, offshore platform stability and dynamically positioning systems for offshore supply vessels, and enabling vessel operators to control ballast water and ship stability systems precision.
"This is the first cybersecurity conference completely dedicated to addressing the automation of realtime cybersecurity threat intelligence information sharing, coordinated response, and cyber resilience best practice and education issues and challenges for the nation’s Maritime and Port critical infrastructure”, said Deborah Kobza, Executive Director/CEO of the MPS-ISAO. “We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to hold the MPS-ISAO’s inaugural conference at our headquarters, the Global Institute for Cybersecurity + Research, Global Situational Awareness Center at NASA/Kennedy Space Center in Florida”.
“The Cybersecurity Summit is a landmark event for the Maritime and Port Community and a major step towards strengthening the public/private partnerships that are so critical to cyber resilience,” said retired CDR Cliff Neve, USCG(ret). “The MPS-ISAO is a critical link in information sharing and the advancement of cyber security as a Team Sport”.
The MPS-ISAO Conference agenda provides opportunities for attendees to engage with a defining voice by engaging and leveraging opportunities to become cyber resilient as part of sector and cross-sector trusted communities while participating in collaborative initiatives, guiding cyber protection and resilience sustainability efforts, participating in MPS-ISAO initiatives, including both regional and national-level cyber exercises, enhancing workforce education, have discussions with decision makers and support approaches to cyber resilience operational strategic planning.
Agenda sessions include: Maritime & Port Cyber Resilience through Expanded Cyber Threat Intelligence & Coordinated Response, Why ISAOs and Information Sharing are so Critical – Breaking Down Long-Standing Barriers and Silos, Sector and Cross-Sector Collaboration – Why it Matters, What does intelligence Tell Us About Ports & Maritime – Knowing the Future, Disaster Preparedness – Alignment of Physical and Cyber Response Protocols, GPS – Purposeful Interference – Reducing Email Spam and Eliminating Ransomware Vulnerabilities, Maintaining Data Integrity, Cybersecurity Insurance, MPS-ISAO Threat Intelligence Information Sharing & Response Infrastructure, International Association of Certified ISAOs (the center-pf-gravity) connecting ISAOs worldwide for information sharing, and opportunities to participate in Maritime and Port Cybersecurity Specialist Training and Certification Program (MP-CSC), and planning for the 2017 Port & Maritime Cyber Exercise (collaboration with US DHS).
A Cybersecurity Expo is being held, and a dinner/networking event including seeing the Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit, the last shuttle mission.
For more information on attending the MPS-ISAO Conference or becoming a Member, please visit
http://www.mpsisao.org or contact Christy Coffey, Director Strategic Initiatives, christy(dot)Coffey(at)mpsisao(dot)org.
About the MPS-ISAO
The MPS-ISAO, a 501(c)6 non-profit organization, strengthens Maritime and Port cyber resilience
through leadership and a sustainable infrastructure that inspires and facilitates cooperation,
collaboration and coordination. http://www.mpsisao.org, Global Situational Awareness Center, NASA/Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
The MPS-ISAO is a founding Member of the International Association of Certified ISAOs (IACI), leveraging a private sector-led global cyber threat intelligence infrastructure working in collaboration with government (U.S. DHS, etc.), IACI advances cyber information sharing through guidance, operations and technologies for ISAO’s worldwide, providing access to IACINET™, the global threat intelligence hub, to share information, coordinate response, provide mutual assistance and benefit from economies of scale. Learn more at http://www.certifiedisao.org.
Rich Mullikin, Mullikin Communications, +1 (925) 354-7444, [email protected]
Share this article